Wicked Ties (Steele Security Series)

by Justice, A. D.

  “Well, she’s lucky to have someone like you in her corner. And while I’m at it, I’m lucky to have you in mine, too. Saying ‘thank you’ seems grossly negligent, but I really don’t know how else to say it. Thank you, Colton, sincerely, for helping me, saving me,” Chaise fought back the emotions that were threatening to take over her voice.

  Bull gave a single nod as his response. He wasn’t accustomed to taking compliments. He was used to taking orders and seeing that his duty was performed to the best of his abilities. His commanding officers didn’t say the words ‘thank you’ for a job well done and they sure didn’t show emotions when they told him he did a good job. He thought maybe he should lighten up on her since she looked like she was about to lose her composure.

  Chaise wasn’t normally such a crier, but the sudden dump of adrenaline was starting to wane and her emotions were on a crazy roller coaster. Everything that she had experienced up until that point was weighing on her as the severity of her situation started to sink in.

  Chaise’s coping mechanisms were being greatly tested. Aura was missing, a notorious gang was having her tailed, someone blew up the car she and Bull had been in, and then someone started shooting at the building. She was no military expert, but it was all a little too much to be considered a coincidence.

  She chuckled under her breath at the absurdity of that thought. A coincidence?

  “What’s so funny over there?” Bull asked with an amused smirk.

  “Well, Bull, it’s pretty simple. It’s either laugh or cry. And since I absolutely hate crying, I figured I had better start laughing really damn soon,” she replied with a hint of witty sarcasm in her tone.

  Bull let out a full belly laugh at her statement. Chaise was suddenly captivated at how his smile transformed his whole face. There was a light in his eyes that was normally masked, his white teeth shone against the stark contrast of his tan skin and his dark chin stubble, and the deep, masculine rumble of his laugh was hypnotizing. Having only seen his serious side, she was curious just how many people had been blessed with his rich, deep laugh that reverberated through her very core.

  She felt herself smile a genuine smile for the first time in weeks--since the whole sordid mess started and she found herself in such a precarious predicament. Bull looked at her for a second or two longer, with this full-on smile still in place, before turning his eyes back to the road.

  “Well, Chaise, I have to admit I’m glad to hear that. If I was a betting man, I would’ve put money on the tears,” he replied with a smidgen of teasing and playfulness in his voice.

  Chaise hoped she was beginning to see the real Colton Lanier, the one she knew he kept hidden from most everyone. That part of himself that he kept reserved for only those whom he trusted. That thought left her with a sorrow she couldn’t quite shake.

  She had only met him a few hours before, but in that short time, he had helped her more than most people had in her entire adult life. But the part that was weighing most heavily on her was that she knew she wasn’t being fair or completely honest with him.

  “I guess it’s a good thing you’re not a betting man, then. Unless, of course, you’d actually made that bet with me,” she playfully jabbed back at him.

  His amused chuckle rippled through Chaise and his eyes lingered on hers again before turning back to the road. She noticed, with more than a little satisfaction, that his smile lingered just a bit longer that time. She hated to be the one to remove that smile from his gorgeous face, but with the interruptions they’d already encountered, she felt a dire need to finish as much of the story as she could.

  “So, Colton, where are we going?” Chaise asked while turning sideways in her seat. She put her back against the door, the seatbelt strap under her arm, and pulled her knee up in the seat to get more comfortable.

  Bull glanced over to answer her and was hit with a sudden and severe craving for Chaise. The way she was sitting was unintentionally provocative and every cell in his body automatically gravitated toward her. Her question purred from her lips, inadvertently sounding alluring and sexy. Bull shifted in his seat and cleared his throat, taking a moment to gather his faculties before responding.

  He had only met the woman and the attraction he felt toward her bordered on insane—for him. While he enjoyed the sight of a beautiful woman, and had enjoyed his share of one or two nights with them, he couldn’t remember ever feeling an intense pull to anyone else. Bull fought to keep his mind on the job and not on her as a person.

  “We have a couple of choices—a safe house in Key Largo or we can go to my place for now. The house in Key Largo is rarely used so I doubt there are many supplies left for us. But it could be a good place for us to regroup,” Bull stated confidently.

  “We’re, what, about an hour from Key Largo?” Chaise asked.

  “Yeah, around there. Is there somewhere else you need to be?” Bull asked, somewhat playfully, still trying to keep the tension light.

  “Well, I need to check my schedule,” Chaise retorted with a laugh. Then she suddenly remembered, “Oh—um, can we go by my apartment first? I really need to get some clothes and other things together.”

  Bull checked the rearview and side mirrors and then changed lanes as he checked for any signs that they were being followed. When he was certain they were in the clear, he asked for her address and made his way to her South Beach condominium. Bull circled the block before turning into the condo where he was stopped by the armed guard on duty.

  The guard cautiously approached the truck as Bull rolled his window down.

  “Hi, Paul, it’s me, Chaise. I don’t have my gate opener with me. Do you mind letting us in?” she asked sweetly.

  “No problem, Miss –”the guard started but Chaise promptly cut him off.

  “Thank you so much, Paul! We really appreciate your help!” she quickly responded. Paul smiled and keyed in the electronic override code to let them through.

  “Have a good night,” Paul called as Bull slowly pulled through the gate. Bull waved in response.

  Chaise was infinitely relieved that she was able to stop him before he said her last name. That would cause a whole new set of problems she wasn’t ready to deal with, including confirming to Bull that she lied to him. He already knew, she had no doubt of that, but she wanted to be the one to explain it. Having someone else reveal it before the right time could be disastrous.

  Bull gave her a knowing look as he rolled up his window and inched forward. She smiled apologetically, yet again, and the urge to explain herself was overwhelming.

  “Colton,” she stated hesitantly, drawing out his name and obviously unsure of how she could explain without explaining, and without making it even worse.

  “Chaise, I understand. Martin isn’t your last name. You’re scared, and until you trust me, you want to stay anonymous. Just know that needs to change soon,” he stated sincerely.

  Chaise’s thoughts immediately went to his statement implying that she didn’t trust him. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, she thought. She knew for a fact that if Noah could trust him, she could, too. The problem existed in him learning of her true identity. Would that destroy the delicate tendrils of trust that he was just beginning to form with her? Would he even give her a chance to explain?

  Mentally chastising herself, she pushed those thoughts away to deal with at a later time. Bull looked at her, clearly expecting a response, and she realized she’d been lost in her own thoughts.

  “I really appreciate that, Bull. You just don’t know how much,” she responded truthfully, maintaining eye contact with him as she reached to touch his arm. She wanted to tell him that she did trust him. With everything in her, she wanted to reassure him that he was good, honest and trustworthy. Unfortunately, she couldn’t convey that to him without opening herself up for the questions she wasn’t yet able to answer.

  She directed him where to park in the parking garage underneath the oceanfront, high-rise condominium building. Bull looked
around and gathered Chaise in close to his side to protect her. The unfamiliar arc of electricity shot through him immediately upon the physical contact. The look on her face told him she felt it, too, but she moved in closer to him, willingly wrapping her arm around his waist as he tucked her under his thick, muscled arm. Chaise couldn’t imagine a safer place in the world to be.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Bull stood at the massive picture window on the twenty-second floor of the luxury high-rise condominium. Chaise’s apartment was really an eight thousand square foot, two-story luxury condo with an unbelievable view of the Atlantic Ocean from every room. A very talented interior decorator was apparently utilized to create a natural flow from one room to the next in the open-air design. Feelings that had been stamped out and forgotten suddenly surfaced within Bull. Thoughts of ineptness and questioning if he was good enough to be there appeared from nowhere.

  Bull sternly reminded himself that she was in danger and she needed the help that he could provide. He was there for a reason and that reason was his job and only his job. His internal discussion proved successful as he pushed away the insecurities of his youth. Bull slowly walked around the condo, taking in the few personal pictures that were scattered around the massive first floor, noting that Chaise wasn’t in any of them. Just as he was nearing the kitchen, where a stack of mail was piled on the counter, Chaise bounded around the corner from the back stairs and plowed into him.

  She let out a shriek when she met the wall of muscle and bounced off of him. Bull grabbed her forearms, pulling her slightly toward him and steadied her footing. She let out a scared chuckle as she playfully swatted at his chest and said, “You scared the shit out of me!”

  Bull laughed easily as he responded, “This place is big enough to get lost in. I’m lucky I found you at all. I must be in the wrong business.”

  Chaise looked around the luxury condo as she said on a sigh, “It is great, isn’t it? I’m obviously in the wrong business, too.”

  Bull looked at her quizzically, obviously confused by her statement.

  Chase quickly amended her statement, “Oh, this place isn’t mine. I could never afford this on my salary. It belongs to the company I’m consulting for—they use it for executives, important visitors, people like that. Since my contract with them is only for a short time, they are letting me stay here for free.”

  The red-alert hairs on the back of Bull’s neck were now at full attention, standing on end, and making him tingle in a not so pleasant way. In his experience, if something seemed too good to be true, it usually meant that it wasn’t true.

  “The same company where you found discrepancies and where your intern worked when you believe she suddenly disappeared? They have access to the condo where you’re living?” Bull asked slowly as his hand moved to unsnap his side holster.

  All color drained from Chaise’s face as she gasped and took an involuntary step back. “You don’t think they’d come after me here, do you?”

  “You haven’t told me what you found, but from what I’ve gathered, you think there’s something highly illegal going on at that company. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating them,” Bull answered truthfully.

  Chaise nodded slowly, her eyes wide open and her pupils fully dilated from fear. “I need to tell you everything, Colton. In case something happens to me, you need to know what I’ve found. So you can find Aura.”

  “Let’s get out of here. You can tell me in the truck. You got everything you need?” Bull asked, pointing to the small suitcase she still held in her hand. She nodded her affirmation and he took the suitcase from her hand. Bull led the way out of the condo, stealthily moving and checking around corners to ensure a safe route for Chaise.

  Bull couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. His gut instincts told him that something was awry in the condo and it wasn’t safe for Chaise to stay there any longer. He pulled her in close to his back as they neared the elevator, using himself as a shield. Once inside, he maneuvered Chaise to the front corner. She was caged in the corner by his body. His hands were planted on the walls on either side of her face.

  “We need to finish that talk real soon, Chaise,” his smooth, deep voice lowered an octave as he nearly whispered his command. His face was close to hers—so close, in fact, that if she lifted herself up just enough, their lips would touch. His warm breath caressed her cheek as he leaned in closer, dropping one hand near her waist. She waited for the warmth of his touch to ignite her already pulsing body.

  Instead, he reached to push the button for the lobby. Waves of disappointment rolled through her as he straightened his back and stepped away from her.

  What the hell am I thinking? Chaise mentally chastised herself for such inappropriate thoughts in the most inappropriate times and places. She glanced at her watch, noting the lateness of the hour, and decided she must have been even more tired than she thought. She also decided she had waited way too long between relationships.

  Stress and anxiety can do funny things to the mind. That had to be reason why she was picturing Colton without his shirt on, the feel of his sinewy muscles and tan skin against hers, the silkiness of his sexy, mussed hair between her fingers. The dinging of the elevator reaching the first floor brought her out of her daydreams, or night dreams, as it was officially way too late to be considered daytime. She quickly masked the smile that was plastered on her face the instant before Bull turned to her.

  “Are you ready for this?” Bull asked.

  Chaise stammered for a minute, wondering if she had actually spoken the thoughts aloud before she realized he was asking if she was ready to leave the safety of the elevator. “Yes, I’m ready,” she managed to respond.

  “Stay close to me, Chaise.”

  “Okay.” No arguments from me, she thought.

  Once safely in the truck, Chaise breathed a little easier. She leaned her head on the window and closed her eyes, her thoughts drifting to her intern, Aura, and wondered where she could be. Is she safe? What have they done with her?

  Bull’s voice pulled her from her thoughts again, “It’s late. If it’s alright with you, we’ll stay at my place tonight and regroup with Rebel and Shadow tomorrow to come up with a plan.”

  “That sounds great, Colton,” Chaise’s relief resounded in her tone.

  Before she could start to tell him about the discrepancies and coincidences she uncovered, she fell asleep in his truck. Cocooned in the warm, leather seats, hidden from dangers by an expert ex-military man, and the rhythmic rocking and swaying of the truck gliding down the interstate lulled her into a deep sleep. She hadn’t slept well since she accepted the assignment, but it had become even worse since Aura went missing.

  She opened her eyes briefly when she felt a flying sensation. She saw Bull standing outside her door, sliding his huge arms underneath her, and scooping her up from the plush seat. Chaise wrapped her arms around his neck, clung tightly to him, and laid her head on his shoulder. Within a few seconds, she was back asleep, being carried into his house as if she weighed no more than a baby.

  Bull maneuvered Chaise and her bags expertly through the front door and into the spare bedroom. It had been a long day and night for both of them, but he suspected the events of the day had taken a harder toll on her than she let on. He still had so many questions and, truthfully, was looking forward to getting a lot of answers. He was disappointed on one hand, but on the other hand, he found it strange that he was enjoying carrying her to bed, pulling back the covers, and tucking her in safely.

  His training and his mental conditioning didn’t allow him to rest on his laurels. There was more than some local gang going after Chaise. They didn’t blow up cars and fire multiple shots at a building that was well outside of their known territory. No, his gut told him that it had to a bigger operation that was only using the gang as a front. Whatever the organization was, it must have a significant presence to use a well-established gang like the Tres Sieses. There would be no
sleep for Bull that night.

  Chaise startled awake, unsure if the loud noise came from her nightmares or from somewhere in the house. As her eyes somewhat focused on her surroundings, she was momentarily disoriented and unsure of where she was. She vaguely remembered Colton picking her up from his truck, so she assumed she was at his house, as planned. She eased out of bed, quietly opened the door, and crept down the hallway toward the front of the house.

  There was better light in the living room, shining in the windows from the security light positioned outside, so she was able to make out the furniture in the room. The large man-cave room held an impressive array of audio-visual equipment for the large flat-screen TV, an oversized, overstuffed sectional sofa wide enough for Bull to comfortably rest on, and a matching recliner. Bull had the chair fully reclined and his eyes were closed.

  Quickly glancing at the clock on the wall, she reasoned he was most likely asleep at 3:45 am. Chaise jumped when Bull’s voice challenged her before his eyes even opened.

  “What are you doing out of bed?”

  “Bad dream,” Chaise answered softly as she moved around to face him. “Mind if I lie down in here with you?”

  “Is the bed not comfortable?” Bull asked with genuine concern.

  “It’s great. It’s just that…well,” her voice trailed as she started biting her fingernails.

  “Just that what?” Bull prompted.

  “Don’t laugh. It’s just that I feel safer in here with you than back there. You wouldn’t know if they came through the window to get to me,” she replied shyly.

  Bull held back a laugh since he could tell she was seriously scared of that scenario playing out. She seemed so young to him—or maybe sheltered was a better word. She didn’t really seem like she had experienced a lot on her own.

  He surmised, from his training in reading people, that she had a controlling father who didn’t want to let his little girl find her own way in the wide, wild world. She wouldn’t know that he had a state of the art alarm system and no one could get on his property, much less in one of his windows, without being riddled with bullet holes first.